Well two new Election Commissioners .... Gyanesh Kumar and Sandhu could have been handpicked by Modi -- and there are good reasons -- One worked for UCC and another ensured abrogation of Art 370

 Two new Election Commissioners were former Babus closely involved in 'delivering' two new milestones for 'Bharat' -- that is new India.

One of them prepared the much needed framework for abrogation of Article 370 and the worked ensured delivery of the controversial Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand.

Babus who delivered in and for 'New India' 

While 1988 batch Kerala cadre IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar was closely involved with the preparations for abrogation of Article 370, soources say.

For his former Uttarakhand chief secretary (also 1988 cadre) IAS officer Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu is credited with the implementation of UCC in the hill state. 

It also came to light both the officials especially Kumar worked closely with Home Minister Amit Shah.

One of the two posts of Election Commissioners fell vacant after the retirement of Anup Kumar Pandey in February. The other vacancy arose after the sudden resignation of Arun Goel on Saturday, amid reports of differences with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar.

A post graduate in economics from Harvard University, Kumar was posted as joint secretary in the Union Home ministry between May 2016 and September 2018 and additional secretary between September 2018 and April 2021.

The Modi government had announced the decision to abrogate Article 370 on 5 August, 2019. 

“He is a very efficient, very hard-working officer. He has a reputation as a go-getter and he delivers  — as he delivered on Article 370. He earns the trust of his superiors and he will never say something can’t be done,” a senior Kerala cadre IAS officer said, according to 'Print'. 

Kumar retired as secretary, Union Ministry of Cooperation in January. The Ministry of Cooperation is also held by Amit Shah. 

After his term in the home ministry, Kumar was appointed the parliamentary affairs secretary for a year. In May 2022, he moved on to become the secretary of the newly formed Ministry of Cooperation under Shah. 

He has held charges in important central ministries including defence, where he handled defence production.  

An IIT-Kanpur alumni with a degree in civil engineering, Kumar courted controversy during his tenure as the Kerala PWD secretary. 

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu served as the chief secretary of Uttarakhand. 

Sandhu was appointed the chief secretary when Pushkar Singh Dhami became the chief minister in 2021. His brush with law helped the state government deliver UCC -- and helped Uttarakhand make a name for itself. 

Earlier, Sandhu served as the chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He also served as additional secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development.  He did his MBBS from Government Medical College, Amritsar and also has a Master's Degree in History from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Sandhu has published papers on 'Urban Reforms' and 'Municipal Management and Capacity Building'. He was conferred President Medal in recognition of his services as Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, Punjab. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also received the 2001 President of India Medal in recognition of services rendered during Census of India.